The 50-Ruble banknote is
designed on the basis of the Bank of Russia 50,000-Ruble
banknote of the 1995 issue. It is a 150 mm by 65 mm piece of
light-blue paper, containing violet, red and light-green fibres. Its predominant colour is
blue. The paper has
local watermarks in the left and right coupon fields. On
the wide coupon field is the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and
Paul in St. Petersburg and on the narrow coupon field is
the figure 50. A vertical security thread, which becomes
visible when the note is held to the light, carries the recurrent, direct and reverse motto "", printed in
black.

In the upper part of the obverse
side of the banknote is the Bank of Russia logo and the
figure 50, printed with a dark-blue paint, and the
embossed inscription ""
(Bank of Russia Note). In the centre is an engraved
picture of a sculpture at the foot of the Rostral Column
in St. Petersburg on the River Neva embankment and in the
background is a view of the Fortress of Sts. Peter and Paul. Below is the figure 50, printed with a silvery
paint, the inscription "Counterfeiting Bank of
Russia Notes Is an Indictable Crime", embossed signs
for people with poor sight, the denomination in words
""
(Fifty Rubles) and a
stylised ribbon. The ribbon contains the Cyrillic letters PP, which become visible when the note is scrutinised
under the oblique incident light (kipp-effect). In the
lower part of the right-hand coupon field is an
ornamental grey-coloured rosette with the light-coloured
figure 50 to the left and to the right and another figure
50, printed a green-blue colour, in the centre. In the
left part of the note is a vertical multi-coloured
ornamental band. In the centre of the narrow left-hand
coupon field are the code and serial number of the banknote, printed in a red-brown
colour, and in the upper
part of the wide right-hand coupon field are the code and
serial number, printed in dark-green. The code consists
of two letters and the serial number is composed of seven digits.

In the upper left-hand and
right-hand corners of the reverse side of the banknote is
the figure 50 in patterned rosettes and microprinted blue
horizontal lines made of the figure 50. In the centre is
an engraved picture of the former stock exchange and the
Rostral Column in St. Petersburg. Under the engraving is
a decorative shield bearing the inscription
"Sankt-Peterburg" and to the right are several
dark horizontal bands with the recurrent light-coloured
microprinted motto "" and a
large figure 50. Underneath is the denomination in words
"" (Fifty Rubles), printed
in blue and black and the issue year 1997, printed in a
violet colour. On the right in the central part is a
vertical multi-coloured ornament, containing rhombs,
whose untinged elements are filled with pink colour when
the note is held to the light.